The extensive use of plastic packaging to preserve a variety of articles has become well known and extensive. Perhaps the most prevalent use of flexible plastic packaging relates to the preservation of food products once a food package is opened and the food article is to be retained in a storage facility such as a refrigerator. For example, the extensive use of polyethylene plastic bags for the preservation of open food articles is in extensive use today.
Typically, the plastic bags or other flexible plastic packaging articles have one open end to permit the insertion and removal of the article from the bag. Once an article is inserted within the confines of the bag, the bag is twisted into a closed position, and a clasp fastener of some type is then used to encircle the stem of the bag and fastened. The most common form of the fastener utilized today consists of a wire which is encased in a paper casing, the fastening accomplished by simply manipulating the wire around the stem of the bag, and fastening the ends of the wire by a twisting motion. Another form of a plastic fastener consists of a flat piece of substantially resilient plastic which has a slot cut into one side of the plastic terminating in an open slot area which permits the operator to insert the plastic stem of the bag through the slot and into the open area in a bayonet fastener type arrangement. However, this type of fastener has been found to be less than desirable since the plastic bag cannot be adequately closed and hence, air is permitted to leak into the bag which causes a spoilage of any food product contained therein.
With respect to the wire type fastener, it has been found that with use, the paper or cardboard casing surrounding the wire often wears extensively which then exposes the ends of the wire to the operator. The exposed wire presents a potential threat of injury to the user since the ends of the wire can puncture and penetrate the fingers of the operator during the fastening procedure.
It has been deemed desirable to develop a fastening system especially adapted for fastening relatively flexible articles, such as the stems of plastic bags, and also useful for any other fastening procedure for encircling and retaining a relatively flexible article, which is easy and simple to use, economic to manufacture, and minimizes the possible exposure of injury to the user thereof. It has therefore been deemed desirable to develop a clasp formed of a resilient material, such as a resilient plastic material, which minimizes or eliminates moving parts, and is basically as easy to utilize as the wire type fastener described hereinabove.